


The Dandelion Conundrum

by stanurised



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Grocery Store, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Florists, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-12-03
Packaged: 2021-02-13 16:37:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21497200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stanurised/pseuds/stanurised
Summary: "If I were a flower, what kind would I be?" Richie asked him."I don't know," Eddie said, "Some sort of weed, like a dandelion or something.""You know, dandelions get a bad rep. Don't they represent like, overcoming challenges and shit?""A weed's a weed, Tozier.""I'll just take it as you calling me fun to blow."Or, Eddie gets a job as a florist at the local grocery store and makes fast friends with some of his co-workers, including a loud-mouthed dairy clerk who seems hell bent on making his job a living nightmare.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 49
Kudos: 150





	1. new beginnings, same smash bros main

**Author's Note:**

> hi!! this is my first fic for the IT fandom, and basically the first thing i've ever posted. it's a bit of a mash up of a college au, florist au, and grocery store au (i know, stay with me here). i definitely am NOT a florist at my local grocery store who is projecting....  
anyway please let me know what you think! I have the entire story plotted out and yes, richie will be in the next chapter lol.  
more tags will be added and the rating will most likely change. thanks for reading!  
my tumblr is stanurised if ya wanna stalk
> 
> ps thank u to soph (professional comma deleter) and roch (artist extraordinaire) for deciding that eddie mains kirby, to jane for indulging me while i rambled about this idea, and to the elc in general for inspiring me all the time i love u all

On Eddie’s first ever day of work at his first ever job, it rained. He thought it was pretty ironic considering he was going to be a florist, a job which made him think of rainbows and sunshine and, of course, pretty flowers. At least, that’s what he’d thought of when he saw the supermarket’s floral department for the first time. The store manager had taken him over there, to the corner of the store where he was going to be the new Assistant Florist. His honest first impression was that it looked like a leprechaun had thrown up all over it. The rest of the store was pretty tame, with purple and yellow signs and generally neutral walls and floors, but this department was its own world. There were balloons clipped on every surface and a million different tables covered in plants of every size and color. Behind the counter was even more overwhelming; there were probably a thousand types of ribbon, sparkly paper, and bottles of glitter. Eddie felt slightly out of his depth, to say the least.

Eddie wasn’t really sure what having a job was supposed to feel like. To say he was nervous was the understatement of the century. He’d never done more than rake his neighbors’ leaves for money, and even then his mom wasn’t crazy about it. Of course, she was the reason Eddie had never had a job before. He was 18, nearing 19 in November, yet he’d never had more than twenty dollars in his life. His best friend, Bill, had been a bag boy at Penny’s since they were 15, and Eddie was always more than a little jealous. Bill was able to buy movie tickets, junk food, and eventually even a car with the money he made bagging (and eventually cashiering). He always shared with Eddie, because Bill was a great friend, but Eddie would’ve loved to have his own money. Not that his mom would allow him to eat junk food, or go out to the movies often, or, God forbid, own a car. Eddie wasn’t even allowed to go for his license, so Bill drove him to school in his car from junior year onward.

But now, finally, his mother had relented. He graduated high school with good grades, and, much to his mother’s pleasure, was going to the state school (whose nearest campus was only 20 minutes away). Bill and Eddie had decided years ago to stay local for college, save as much money as they could, and then run out of Derry as fast as Bill’s Honda Civic could take them. Not that he would tell his mother that, but what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. Yet.

Eddie almost couldn’t believe that Sonia had actually allowed him to get a job, though he expected it was because she was so pleased with Eddie’s decision to live at home during college. “Decision” being a loose term, since Sonia had made it pretty clear that she would be holding Eddie’s inheritance money from his dead father hostage unless he did whatever she said. He wasn’t really sure of the logistics of that, but fighting with his mother was a losing battle anyway. So, Eddie took it one step at a time. Today, a job that he could walk to from his house, tomorrow, a car so he wouldn’t have to take the bus or beg Bill (or worse, his mother) to take him to campus. Baby steps.

He’d been pretty surprised when they offered him the job as floral assistant. When Bill told them the location near Eddie’s house was hiring, he expected to be a cashier, or maybe even a shelf stocker. To his dismay, however, the nice lady who interviewed him told him that they were looking for somebody to help the floral manager part-time. He’d blanched, and told the lady he didn’t know anything about flowers, but she’d just shrugged and looked at him kind of sheepishly. Clearly they were desperate, but hey, so was Eddie.

So there he was, mustard yellow polo shirt and black dress pants on, feeling like a very anxious bumblebee in the middle of this flowery mess. The store manager had left him there after telling him that his boss, Beverly, would be in any minute. He looked across the store to the front doors, waiting to see a head of gray hair walking towards him, already having a clear image in his head of what floral manager Beverly would look like. Bill had told him that this store, unlike the one closer to campus that he worked at, was notorious for being full of old people. There were about four Penny’s locations much closer to campus, so that seemed to be where all the college aged kids worked. 

Eddie could attest just from being in the store for five minutes that Bill was right. The store manager was a gruff old man named Ron, and the front end staff looked about thirty seconds from retirement. He could only imagine what a floral manager named Beverly would be like. As long as she didn’t die before he was trained, he supposed he’d be fine.

In all honesty, Eddie didn’t mind the idea of being surrounded by older people too much. If his teachers and his mom’s old lady friends were anything to go by, they loved Eddie. He was quiet, polite, and an absolute pleasure to have in class. It was other people his age that made him nervous, hence why he only had one best friend. Well, plus the anxiousness and his mother, but that was a whole different story.

His thoughts were interrupted when he finally saw someone walking through the front doors. Instead of a head of gray hair, though, the person walking through the doors had a mess of cropped, fiery red curls with sunglasses pushed up into them. She was short, and she had on all black, and oh my God, she was young, and heading right towards him. A grin split her face open, and Eddie stood awkwardly still even though he had spiritually run away about ten seconds ago.  
“Oh my God!” the girl all but shouted, “You must be Eddie!”

It took a second for Eddie to snap out of it and realize he should probably be responding like a normal person, because this girl was not an old lady at all. In fact, she was very objectively cool looking, and Eddie had in no way prepared for this scenario.

Eddie barely got out a “Uh, hi.” before Beverly was pulling him into a hug, and then looking him up and down while holding him at arm’s length, “I’m Bev, it’s so nice to meet you! I can’t even tell you how glad I am that I finally have some help around here, you have no idea… You’re so young, are you a high schooler? “  
“No,” he blushed furiously, “I’m going to be a college freshman in August.”

Her face lit up, “No way, so you’re our age, that’s amazing! I’m gonna have to introduce you to the guys. Wait, so tell me about you!”

Eddie told her what little there was to tell; that he had just graduated from the local high school and was going to be studying at the University of Central Maine, with an undecided major (his mom said medicine or business, Eddie said he’d rather die, thanks, so undecided meant putting off that argument). Bev listened to his short explanation with rapt attention, her elbow leaning on the counter as she nodded enthusiastically. 

She was pretty; even Eddie, who generally had little to no interest in the aesthetics of girls, could acknowledge that. Her work outfit was kinda Sandy in the final scene of Grease-esque (Eddie may or may not have seen that movie for the first time with Bill at the drive-in that summer), with tall black boots and a grey sweater, which made him kinda mad because he was stuck looking like a crusty old piece of pollen. 

Bev told Eddie about herself, too; that she was 22, and had moved to Derry from Portland when she was 18. She’d had the same job that Eddie was about to start, bouncing around different stores until she was offered a management position at this one. She was the youngest department manager in the town, and no one had really wanted her to take the job, but the old lady who ran the department before had pushed her to. 

“I started here at the beginning of the new year,” Bev explained. “It’s a pretty good store. I miss working with my boyfriend, Ben, but we live together now, so it’s no big deal. Plus, there’s a couple of cool people here. The rest are just old people who don’t care anymore.” 

Eddie took a piece of ribbon from the counter and rolled it in between his fingers. “Your boyfriend is a florist, too?”

Bev laughed. “Oh God, no. He works in the bakery at my old store, usually super early morning shifts. You’ll see him when he comes to visit, the man doesn’t know the difference between a sunflower and a rose, swear to God.”

“Honestly,” Eddie said, “I barely do. I don’t know the first thing about flowers. I’m not even that artistic.”

Bev gestured to the counter where all the different ribbons, sprays, and bottles of glitter sat. “All you gotta do is put some pretty colors together, pour on some glitter, and tie it with a bow. Don’t worry, okay? I’m gonna show you everything.”

And Bev did show him everything, or at least it felt like it had to be everything. There were potted plants, premade bouquets, little arrangements, big arrangements, buckets full of water, blocks of foam… Eddie’s mind was spinning by the time Bev suggested they take a walk around the store so he could learn the layout. He’d been at work for less than three hours and his legs were already cramping, his back tight from standing in one spot for so long. He thought about his mother whining about how Eddie wasn’t made for this kind of labor; he was too fragile and his allergies would act up, she claimed. Just thinking about the temper tantrum she threw when he told her what position he’d been hired for made him stand up a little straighter, suddenly all the more grateful to be there instead of home.

Bev took him around the perimeter of the store, showing him the giant back room where all the groceries came in, the produce area where their own floral load would come in, the dairy department, the bakery, the deli, and finally, the front end. She brought him right up to the customer service counter, where a curly haired boy was shuffling through some papers.  
“Stanley, are you busy?” Bev asked the boy, leaning both elbows against the counter.

“For you? Yes,” he said, without looking up. Eddie couldn’t help but laugh a little at his bluntless, which made Stanley’s (or so he figured) eyes shoot up. “Oh, uh, sorry. Hi.” 

Stanley was wearing the same yellow polo as Eddie, but buttoned all the way to the top. He had a bit of a sharp face, with small, dark beady eyes, and exuded the strongest air of no nonsense that Eddie might have ever witnessed. He felt himself tense up, though Bev seemed as relaxed as ever.

“Real nice, dude,” Bev said to him, clearly amused. “Way to make a first impression on my new florist.”

Stan shot Bev a glare before he made his way out from behind the counter looking sheepish. “Hey, I’m Stan,” he said, sticking his hand out for Eddie to shake. “That rude comment was intended only for Beverly, I promise.”

“Get used to it, Eddie,” Bev told him solemnly as he shook Stan’s hand, “This is how Stan treats all of his friends. That’s why he only has two.”

“You sound like Richie,” Stan said.

Bev shrugged. “I mean, he did ask me to annoy you as much as possible while he’s gone. Just following orders.” Eddie looked between them, a bit lost.

“Richie is our friend that works here during the school year,” Stan explained, clearly sensing Eddie’s confusion. “He’s been in California with his family this summer, but he’ll be back in a couple weeks. Enjoy the peace and quiet while you can.”

“Oh my God, did you just admit to Richie being your friend? Hold on, I gotta send that to the group chat, he’s gonna flip.”

Bev whipped her phone out of her pocket as Stan rolled his eyes. “I’ll deny it ‘til the day I die. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I actually have some work to do.” 

Eddie wasn’t sure whether to laugh or not, so he stood there awkwardly.

“Two weeks, Stan,” Bev said. “That’s how long you have until you’ll be reunited with your best friend. Maybe then you’ll stop being so cranky.” She winked at Eddie, and Eddie just grimaced. Bev didn’t seem to care, but he personally didn’t want to be the subject of Stan’s death glare. “You get off at five?”

“Yeah,” Stan said, already having gone back to sorting his papers. “It was nice meeting you, Eddie. And hey, Bev?”

“Yes, Stanley?”

He held up his middle finger for a moment, then promptly went back to his work. Bev just laughed before gesturing for Eddie to follow her back to their department.

After leaving Stan, Bev decided to show him how to use the helium inflator to blow up balloons. He had no idea what balloons had to do with flowers, but apparently it was part of the job. As she demonstrated, she told him a story about her, Stan, and the enigmatic Richie trying to climb the Derry water tower.

“I can’t believe Stan would do something like that,” Eddie said, watching Bev tie up a latex balloon. “He seems so…”

“Serious?” Bev finished, and Eddie nodded. “Yeah, Stan is hard to explain. He’s one of my best friends, but sometimes I still don’t understand him. He’s a really sweet guy, deep down. You know he cried when we dropped Richie off at the airport? He swears it isn’t true, but Ben and I know we saw tears.”

“Ben’s your boyfriend who works in the bakery, right?” Eddie asked, trying to keep track of all the names. 

Bev smiled. “Right, he’s the baker. Then there’s Stan, Richie, who you’ll meet in a couple weeks, and Mike, who mostly works at night. You’ll love him, he’s the sweetest guy I’ve ever met.”

“Who, Richie?” he asked as Bev handed him a balloon and he put it on the helium spout, jumping when he pressed down and the air started to loudly flow out.

“Oh God, no,” Bev laughed, “I meant Mike. Richie is… well, you’ll see. I love him to death, but he’ll probably drive you crazy.”

Eddie shrugged, “I’m sure he can’t be that bad.” 

Just then, the balloon he was trying to inflate exploded with a bang.

&

After a long day of curling ribbon and getting his fingers pricked by rose thorns, Eddie collapsed on Bill’s bed with a sigh, still in his yellow polo. It was Friday, which meant Eddie was sleeping over Bill’s house. It’d been a tradition ever since Eddie’s mom had finally decided he could stay overnight at the Denbroughs’, and they rarely strayed from it. In about three weeks, Bill would move into a dorm at USM and Eddie would stay at home, no longer a ten minute walk away. It wasn’t the end of the world; Bill had a car, and it was only a 20 minute drive to campus. Still, it sucked that Eddie wouldn’t be able to go over to the Denbrough house whenever he wanted to escape his mother for a while. Bill’s parents weren’t perfect themselves, but at least they left them alone whenever he came over.

Eddie couldn’t help but feel anxious when he thought of Bill moving to college, as close as it may be. Growing up, Eddie and Bill had always stuck together. Eddie was a tiny, sort of sickly child, and was notorious for having a crazy mother who sometimes came into the school to yell at various teachers and nurses. Bill, on the other hand, had been known for his stuttering and his sick little brother, Georgie, who nearly died. Other kids didn’t really bully them so much as just avoid them, but they weren’t exactly a well-liked duo. Then, high school happened.

Georgie had gotten better and was now a perfectly healthy fourteen year old . Bill himself had made the baseball team in ninth grade, eventually becoming captain. Eddie couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard Bill stutter. Bill was tall, handsome, and the object of many crushes throughout his high school career. He went from virtually ignored to quite popular, a real caterpillar into a butterfly type situation.

On the other hand, Eddie’s mom was still crazy, his only other friends in high school were ones who talked to him because of Bill, and, to add insult to injury, he’d stopped growing at a measly 5’7”. 

If Bill was a butterfly, Eddie was a moth.

“Was it as bad as you thought it’d be?” Bill asked from where he sat in this beanbag chair. 

Eddie toed his work shoes off, listening to them land on Bill’s floor with two thuds. “No, not really. My manager is actually really nice. I just don’t know jack shit about flowers. Or balloons.”

“Balloons?” Eddie wasn’t looking at Bill, but he could hear the grimace in his voice.

“Yeah, apparently that’s part of being a florist at Penny’s,” Eddie said. “So basically I’m part time florist, part time circus clown.”

“Suits you perfectly,” Bill said, and Eddie laughed. 

They were quiet for a few minutes, Bill scrolling on his phone and letting Eddie starfish on his bed, his feet aching. He frowned when he realized he was getting his pollen covered clothes all over Bill’s comforter, and forced himself to slowly sit up.

“What are we doing tonight?” Eddie asked, reaching for his backpack, where he’d packed a change of clothes.

“Smash bros?” Bill suggested. “We haven’t played in a while. But no screaming. You woke up my parents last time.” 

“You were cheating!” Eddie defended.

Bill pursed his lips, “I don’t cheat. Maybe if you’d stop playing as Kirby you wouldn’t get so mad.”

“Maybe if I played for five hours a day I’d be as good as you.”

By the time Eddie finished his sentence, Bill already had his phone to his ear.

“Hi, can I place an order for pick up?”

Eddie just rolled his eyes, maybe a little bit fondly, and took his clothes out of his backpack so he could change.

This was how every Friday night went, and Eddie didn’t even want to think about what was going to happen when they both had work and school schedules to be balancing. He wouldn’t be surprised if in a month from now, Bill was trying to get Eddie to come out with his new college friends that would only talk to him because Bill wanted them to. There was no use dreading it now, though, not before college even started. Or at least that’s what he told himself.

Bill hung up his phone, grabbing his keys as Eddie finished getting dressed.

“Wanna hit up Penny’s on the way back? Ice cream is buy one get one.”

Eddie nodded and zipped up his sweatshirt. “I can use my employee discount for the first time.”

“Oh shit, yeah,” Bill said, “I almost forgot. Eddie, this is gonna be so awesome.”

“What, me working at Penny’s?” Eddie asked as they headed out of Bill’s room and to his car.

“Just like, everything. You getting the job, us starting at UCM, I think it’s gonna be super cool.”

“I just hope it goes by fast,” Eddie said. “The sooner it’s over, the sooner we can get out of this shit hole town.”

Bill unlocked his car. “Hey, don’t wish it all away. You never know, you might be gearing up to have the best year of your life.”

Eddie said nothing, just slid into the passenger seat, hoping he was right.


	2. you're gonna be bad for business, i can tell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***IMPORTANT: originally this chapter was posted 11/24 but ao3 was glitching (and not showing it in the It tags) so i had to take it down and repost. if you commented on the original post just know i did see and appreciate it so much!! feel free to comment again so i can reply to u lmao***
> 
> i'm back baby!! thank u so much to everyone for your bookmarks kudos, comments, etc. you have no idea how full my heart is!!  
finally after this chapter the exposition is OVER and we can get into the good stuff (and hopefully chapters will get longer). bare with me though, thanksgiving is a crazy time for florists so i probably won't be updating til at least black friday lol  
i'd like to make two very special shout outs to two very special artists: jack (@neiboltwell) and rochelle (@bisexual-zombies)! thank u guys so much for drawing florist eddie and bringing my vision to life ur both incredible (rochelle's piece: https://rochelledrawsthings.tumblr.com/post/189194416853/click-for-quality-stanurised-is-writing-an)  
and once again to soph for fixing my bad grammar, and to the elc for your overwhelming and constant support in reaction to this fic  
enjoy and let me know what you think

Eddie was officially starting to think that having a job wasn’t so bad. Sure, flower arranging wasn’t his dream career, but he didn’t mind spending his work day tucked in the corner of Penny’s, surrounded by plants. He and Bev had worked it out so that Eddie would work all day on Mondays and Wednesdays, which would be Bev’s days off, and then help on the weekends. At first, Eddie had been terrified to work in the department alone, but the weekdays proved to be pretty uneventful. He spent most of it doing whatever tasks Bev left for him the day before: watering plants, cutting flowers, and blowing up balloons until he wanted to strangle himself with curly ribbon. That being said, Eddie savored his time peacefully walking around the department and performing menial tasks. Compared to some of the other jobs people did at Penny’s, Eddie considered himself to have it good.

When he wasn’t maintaining the department, Eddie would sometimes have to help customers. That was undoubtedly the part he’d been most nervous about when he thought about getting a job. For the most part Eddie was a polite person, but he could also be a bit awkward, either talking too much or too little―and, according to Bill, he was easy to upset. The customers at Penny’s proved to be pretty nice, though, and understanding of his limited knowledge. Anyone with big requests was asked to come back when Beverly was here, because Eddie wasn’t even close to being ready to design arrangements to the caliber that she could. The most he could really do was wrap flowers into a bouquet, which he knew he wasn’t the best at, but no one had complained yet. Bev had even said that Eddie had an eye for color, which may or may not have made him silently beam for two hours straight.

The best part of the job, of course, was the paycheck. The Friday after he’d gotten his first one, he and Bill had gone to the movies, and Eddie had proudly paid for both of their tickets and twizzlers for Bill. At Bill’s suggestion (and to his mother’s horror) he’d even opened a bank account so that his money could get deposited in it every week. Eddie never thought that swiping a piece of plastic could be so empowering.

He knew in the back of his mind that being excited over money and bank accounts was kind of juvenile, and that he was (and had always been) many steps behind his peers when it came to milestones, but he couldn’t help feeling proud of himself. His mother controlled everything―his phone, where he went, who he hung out with―but getting this job felt like a step towards some sort of independence. His mother complained for hours when she found out that Eddie had gone out and gotten a bank account unattached from her own, but he just tuned her out. Eddie was a _college student_ with a _job_ and a _bank account_. Things finally seemed to be looking up.

It helped that the people he worked with were pretty cool. His entire life he’d really only had friends that Bill had gotten for him, and it showed. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d talked to any of the people who used to sit as his lunch table. His friends from Penny’s, though―Bev, Ben, Stan, and Mike―were different. They didn’t even know Bill. They just happened to like Eddie for Eddie, which was a new phenomenon he wanted to get used to.

On his third day at Penny’s, Eddie met Ben. He came into the store around mid morning, brandishing a white box and wearing flour covered pants.

“Hey, Eddie, how are you?” he asked. “I’m Ben. Bev said today was your last day of training, so I brought you guys something to celebrate.”

Eddie went up to the counter. “Bev’s in the bathroom, she’ll be back in a second. But uh, wow, thank you so much. That’s amazing. And nice to meet you, by the way.”

“Sorry if you don’t like cannolis,” Ben said, “but they’re Bev’s favorite. I figured they were my safest bet.”

Bev walked up to the counter then, approaching Ben and taking the box out of his hand. “He’s just trying to butter you up. Don’t worry, Eddie. If you don’t want it, I’ll gladly eat it.”

Ben looked at her like she’d just said the most profound and beautiful poetry ever spoken. “Nice to see you, too.” They exchanged a kiss before Bev came back behind the counter with the box.

“I’ve never had a cannoli,” Eddie said, taking the box from Bev’s hands, “but I’m definitely gonna try it. Don’t even think about it, Beverly.”

Bev and Ben had both looked at each other and laughed, which was maybe the warmest sound Eddie had ever heard. It had sort of made him want to cry, though he didn’t know why.

Ben stuck around and chatted for a while, smiling proudly when Eddie tried the cannoli (and almost moaned out loud). Ben was a bit shy, which surprised Eddie given how outgoing Bev was, but he supposed opposites attracted.

By the time Ben left, Eddie was convinced that Bev and Ben had to be the best couple in the world. Eddie wasn’t exactly a love expert, but it seemed to be common sense. Their faces lit up when they saw each other, and Ben hung on Bev’s every word. When Bev talked about Ben’s baking skills or how he was studying to become an architect, pride basically radiated off of her. Eddie admittedly had never spent an extended time around a real couple―his dad died when he was young and his mother never remarried, and Bill usually only spent a month at a time with whoever he was with before getting bored of them (even so, Bill usually didn’t force Eddie to third wheel, for which he was eternally grateful)―and he thought being around Ben and Beverly would be nauseating, but they weren’t all over each other like so many of the couples in high school. Ben and Bev seemed like the real deal, and Eddie admired them for that.

He’d also met Mike pretty soon after he started, though they didn’t see each other often. Bev told him that Mike helped on his family’s farm in the morning, which is why he worked later in the day. Once school started back up, he’d even somehow manage to squeeze classes into his busy schedule. Safe to say, Eddie was in awe of Mike before they’d even met. Once they’d actually been introduced, that awe was multiplied by a thousand.

Mike had first approached the floral department when Eddie was cleaning up for the day, getting ready to go home.

“Hey,” he said, coming up to the counter, “Eddie, right?”

Eddie set his broom against the wall. “Yeah, that’s me. Can I help you?”

Mike laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not a customer. I’m Mike, I work in the dairy department. Bev’s told me so much about you.”

“Oh, Mike, yeah,” Eddie said, noticing the mustard yellow shirt color under his jacket a minute too late, “nice to meet you.”  
“Likewise,” Mike said. “What do you think about the store so far? I just started at the beginning of the summer myself. Not too bad, right?”

Eddie walked up to the counter so that he was no longer standing awkwardly against the wall with his broom. “No, not bad. Full of old people, but at least they mind their own business. I don’t think Ron ever knows what’s going on down here.”

“You got that right,” Mike smiled, and holy shit, it was almost blinding up close. “I don’t think that man comes downstairs more than once a shift. I don’t even blame him. Plus, it means Richie and I can have dance parties in the dairy cooler.”

“Sounds like a cold dance party.”

“You’d be surprised. You’ll have to come to the next one!”

He decided that he liked Mike a lot in that moment. He was tall and handsome, with the kindest face he’d ever seen, talking to him like they were old friends. Eddie would definitely be giving a glowing review to Bev.

“Send me an invite,” Eddie said, grabbing his coat from the drawer he’d shoved it in, “but not for tonight. I’m getting the hell out of here.”

“Lucky you,” Mike said. “But hey, it was nice meeting you, Eddie. Have a good night!” He walked away, towards the back of the store where the dairy cooler was.

He didn’t see Mike too often in the following weeks, usually just crossing paths when Eddie was leaving and Mike was coming in, but they always greeted each other and had a short conversation. Eddie was pretty sure that meant he’d scored another friend.

Even Stan had warmed up to him in the almost three weeks that he’d been there. Stan liked to come over to floral to complain about the old ladies in the department, and at first he’d only done it when Beverly was there, but he’d started to come to talk to just Eddie, too. He felt a little honored, because Stan didn’t seem to like a majority of the store. They’d even take their breaks together sometimes, eating in the break room while Stan filled Eddie in on the drama of the front end of the store. The more he got to know Stan, the more he realized how perfect Stan was for his job of bossing around gossipy old lady cashiers and dealing with bitchy customers. It might even have been his calling.

All in all, his four new friends were great. He couldn’t believe that four kind, funny, and seemingly cool people all liked him, and at once for that matter! He felt incredible, amazing, on cloud nine―but there was just one problem. He had yet to win the approval of the final member of the group: the infamous Richie.

He had no idea what to expect from the guy. Bev had told him some interesting stories, usually accompanied by Stan calling Richie an idiot, and Bev often started sentences with, “When Richie’s back…” but they hadn’t said that much about him as a person. Eddie certainly wasn’t going to be the one to ask.

He was a little nervous to meet Richie, because if Richie didn’t like him, that would really put a wrench in his whole plan to make friends at Penny’s. Still, though, with all of the chaos of starting a new job and getting ready for college, he pushed his worries about meeting Richie far back into his mind. Eddie had way more pressing things to worry about.  
Plus, Eddie figured, he couldn’t be that bad. What he had gathered in his few weeks of employment about Richie, or as they called him, Trashmouth (or sometimes imbecile, clown, or weasel by Stan) was that he was loved and missed by his friends, judging by how often his name was brought up. If nice people like Bev, Ben, Stan, and Mike willingly associated him, what could go wrong?

Enter Richie Tozier.

&

Wednesdays were quickly becoming Eddie’s favorite day to work. He ran the department alone, tucked away in his corner, and barely any customers came in. It was kind of nice, in a way. This was his third Wednesday alone, and he finally felt like he had a handle on things.

None of his friends were working, so it was especially quiet in the floral department that day. Eddie didn’t mind, though, as it gave him time to think. School was starting in just over a week, so that was pretty much what occupied his mind at any given moment. Textbooks, transportation, finding his classes…all his worries cycled through his brain on a strict rotation.

He was at the sink filling up some buckets when a loud bang forced him out of his thoughts.

“You must be the new flower boy,” a voice said, and Eddie whipped around almost fast enough to break his neck.

Standing there with his palms on the counter was a boy Eddie had never seen before. He was tall, tall enough for it to be the first noticeable trait, with dark, curly hair and black framed glasses. He wore a Penny’s shirt with black jacket over it, and a wide, goofy grin.

_Oh shit_, Eddie thought, _this can’t be_…

“I’m Richie,” the boy said, “and you must be Eddie.”

Eddie turned off the sink, “Uh, yeah, that’s me.”

“Everyone told me so much about you,” Richie told him, “but they failed to mention how cute you are.”

Eddie felt his face heat up, and he knew he looked about as red as a tomato. “Maybe because they thought that would be a weird thing to say.”

And oh, God. Eddie was supposed to be making Richie like him, but that was going to be impossible if Eddie didn’t think before he spoke.

To his surprise, though, Richie let out a ringing laugh. “Oh come on, Eddie, it's not weird if it's true.”

Richie was walking from the cash register, where a customer might stand, to behind the counter where Eddie was.

“I- okay, so, I guess you’re just gonna-” Eddie said as Richie approached, having no regard for his work area. “Pretty sure only florists are supposed to be back here.” Eddie knew he sounded indignant and probably more than a little bit flustered, and Richie was definitely getting a kick out of it. He hopped up to take a seat on the counter. “Come on, man. That’s where I work.”

“You know,” Richie said, ignoring Eddie’s complaints, “you’d think someone who worked with flowers all day would be more zen.”

“You’d also think that an employee would have more respect for their company’s property.”

“I guess we're both full of surprises then, aren’t we?”

Richie was looking straight at him, a smirk plastered across his face. He clearly found this all very entertaining, which made Eddie unspeakably mad.

“When Bev said you were _a lot_, I thought she was being dramatic,” Eddie told him, arms crossed against his chest.

Richie beamed. “She said that? What else did they say about me? Oh please, do Stan first. He comes up with the best shit.”

“I’m pretty sure he said you were a lanky degenerate with the common sense of a can of ravioli once.”

“God, he has a way with words.” Richie looked into the distance wistfully for a moment before returning to Eddie’s face. “Well, what do you think? Am I living up to expectations?”

Eddie hesitated for a moment, completely thrown off by this boy. He didn’t know what to expect when he met Richie, but this was far from it. Richie was so… unabashed. Eddie knew he spoke without thinking a lot of the time, and wouldn’t exactly consider himself shy so much as awkward, but at least he had the decency to be embarrassed when he said something stupid. Richie was something else entirely. He was quick, confident, and had no qualms about making Eddie uncomfortable. Eddie’s fight or flight senses were swinging back and forth rapidly, resulting in him having to resist the urge to punch Richie in the face and immediately run for the hills.

“You’re living up to the obnoxious part for sure,” Eddie told him after a moment.

Richie shrugged. “That was a given.”

“Dude, do you even work here, or are you just going to sit here on my counter all day like a living prop?”

“I still have,” Richie checked his watch, “seven minutes before I clock in. Don’t be trying to get rid of me so soon, Eddie. I’m here to stay.”

“I thought you just said you only had seven minutes.”

Richie’s grin split open even further. “Did you hear that, folks? Local flower boy is not only adorable, but sharp as a whip!”

Eddie turned his head to hide his blush, which was coming back full force. “You sound like the worst sports broadcaster I’ve ever heard.”

“You listen to sports broadcasting?”

“Ew, no. It was just the most annoying thing that came to mind.”

Richie wiped the imaginary sweat off of his forehead. “Oh, thank God. That might’ve been a deal breaker.”

“Deal breaker!?” Eddie nearly yelled. “There’s no deal! Literally no deal has ever or will ever be spoken of!”

But Richie was just laughing again, the infuriating sound echoing through the quiet store. “God,Bev was right when she called you feisty.”

Eddie, so irritated that he thought his brain might actually explode out of his head and onto the ceiling above him, could only splutter incoherently.

Richie hopped off the counter, dusting his black pants off with his disgustingly large alien hands. “Alright, alright, I’m done. I’ll go do my job now.”

“Good riddance,” Eddie said under his breath, but Richie clearly heard it because he laughed again as he exited the floral department.

“See you around, Flower Boy!” he said as he headed to the back of the store where the time clock was. “And hey, Eddie?”

“What?”

Richie let out in a loud, singsong, horrible, voice, “I can tell that we are gonna be friends!”

Eddie watched as Richie disappeared into the back, his mind racing faster than he could process. He felt like he’d just missed the last step on the stairs, and had landed on the floor, and maybe smacked his head.

Eddie had thought Richie would be outgoing, probably funny, most likely talkative. He had not thought Richie would be infuriating, inflammatory, and also evil (possibly the antichrist). His other friends were so _polite, _how did Richie fit in?

He leaned his elbows on the counter and put his head in his hands. This was not exactly what he had planned. He wasn’t sure what exactly to do, but he knew that there was no way this gangly asshole was not getting in the way of what he thought was shaping up to be a good year.

But then again, everyone had said Richie took some getting used to. Bev herself had told Eddie that Richie was “an acquired taste” (with Stan asking _when do you think I’ll finally acquire it?_) and he definitely saw what she meant now. They still spoke of him fondly, and called themselves friends.

_It’ll be fine_, Eddie told himself, _you can just ignore him_.

He was starting college soon, he had a new job full of friends that he liked. He had his plan with Bill, to finish college and move as soon as possible. Everything was under control.

And so Eddie, feeling a bit calmer and full of much more resolve, got back to work, with only one thought in his head: he was not going to let Richie mess up his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on tumblr @stanurised  
btw if u know what this chapter title references im in love with u


	3. we're all in this together (except bill)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again! i hope everyone who celebrated the holiday had a good one. this chapter was written in a fever induced stupor because this florist has the FLU!
> 
> today i'm back with another episode of gay florist vs Karen. the first part of this chapter is based off of horrifically real events that actually happened to me last week. as soon as this lady started yelling at me i knew i had to project my trauma onto eddie. isn't that what it's all about?
> 
> as always, thank you to roch and soph for helping me with this chapter. hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. see you all when i'm done dying of the flu.

Two weeks after his less than charming meeting with Richie, Eddie was officially a college student. Even the most annoying clown on Earth (which Richie very well might have been, in Eddie’s opinion) couldn’t bring him down. There were times when Eddie thought he wouldn’t make it out of high school, would never be allowed to get a job, would end up locked in his bedroom like Princess Fiona for the rest of his days...

But here he was, doing things he wasn’t sure he’d ever get to do. Despite his previous cynicism, Eddie felt pretty damn good. 

Of course, though, the universe had to test him.

It was Monday, one of Eddie’s long days at Penny’s, and he had decided to clean every bucket in the department. He was elbows deep in soapy water when a customer approached.

She was an older woman, with short, bleach blonde hair and red lipstick. Alarm bells rang in Eddie’s head immediately.

“Um, hello?” she said impatiently, putting her hideous, oversized bag on the counter. “Do you work here?”

Eddie had never bitten his tongue harder in his life as he turned off the sink (where he’d been, well, what do you know,  _ working) _ . “Um, yes. Just a second.”

He took off his rubber gloves, smoothed down his apron, and walked up to the counter. “How can I help you?”

The lady, who Eddie instantly dubbed Karen in his mind, opened up her purse and took a receipt from out of it. She put it on the counter. “Do you see this?”

Eddie looked around, kind of nervous that this lady was about to kill him, but saw no one. Great. He took the receipt in his hand and looked it over, seeing a half dozen roses listed and circled in blue pen.

“Sorry, ma’am, but I’m not sure I quite-”

She interrupted by putting a hand up to his face. “That is a receipt from yesterday. My husband came here to get me flowers for our anniversary, but when he got home and gave them to me, I couldn’t believe it. They were disgusting! Petals falling off, some of them turning black…it was horrible.”

“I apologize about that,” Eddie said, feeling his heart start to race. “If you go to the service desk, they can issue you a refund.”

“I know that,” she snapped, “I already got my refund. I am extremely frustrated that I had to come all the way back here. It’s very inconvenient for me.”

Eddie, feeling his face turn red, tried to stay as calm as possible. “Oh, I’m sorry. Would you like me to get you some new flowers?”

Karen rolled her eyes. “Yes, I would. But you know what would be even better? If you wouldn’t put product like that out for sale. That way, my husband could’ve brought home nice flowers the first time.”

Eddie, who’d never been one to control his temper, felt his mouth open before he could even think. “Maybe you should tell your husband to actually look at what he’s buying for you. Or maybe he just doesn’t care, which seems likely considering he bought you six flowers from a grocery store for your anniversary.”

He knew as soon as the words left his mouth that he’d made a mistake, but he was nearly shaking with anger at this point. Karen’s mouth opened and closed like a fish.

“You can’t talk to me like that!” she shouted.

Eddie, who knew this, said nothing. His grave was already plenty deep.

The woman grabbed her bag from the counter and stomped away towards the customer service desk.

He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do. His heart was beating in his ears so loudly that he couldn’t hear. He had never,  _ ever  _ been spoken to like that in his life. Eddie didn’t have much experience in customer service, but he was pretty sure insulting your customer’s husband wasn’t part of the protocol.

With a sigh, he went back to washing his buckets and considered drowning himself in the sink.

Stan approached the counter about twenty minutes later, his arms crossed.

“Eddie.” 

“How are you?” Eddie blanched. Stan, his face completely blank, gestured for Eddie to follow him. Together they walked to the back office. 

“Take a seat,” Stan said as he closed the door behind them, seating himself behind the desk.

“Am I getting fired?” Eddie asked.

Eddie caught the corners of Stan’s mouth twitch slightly. “No. Tell me what happened.”

So Eddie told Stan the full story, from the moment the lady walked up to the counter to when she furiously stomped away, trying his best to repeat what was said verbatim.

When he was done, Stan was staring at him. “Can you repeat what you said to her again?”

Eddie wanted to cry. The adrenaline was wearing off and he was beginning to realize that he really, really fucked up.

“Stan, I know it was bad-”

“Eddie, repeat what you said.” 

Eddie did as he was told. Stan sat there, staring at him again for a good minute. Suddenly, Stan keeled over, shaking with laughter.

“Uh, Stan?” Eddie asked nervously.

But Stan was still laughing, absolutely howling, and when he lifted his head he even had tears in his eyes. “Holy shit, Eddie. That’s amazing.” 

Stan held out his hand for a high five, which Eddie gave him. Eddie had never understood someone less.

“So I’m not fired?”

“No, Eddie, you’re not fired. Is this your first time with a mean customer?”

“Yeah, I mean, this is my first job.”

Stan wiped a tear away. “I get it. It can be really hard to know how to react when they start freaking out on you. You just have to work on staying calm. Easier said than done, I know.”

“She just attacked me out of nowhere!” Eddie said, feeling very relieved that Stan was on his side.

“She was angry from the second she walked in the store,” Stan said. “There was no hope for her. Clearly she just felt like being a massive bitch.”

“I can’t believe I said that to her. Fuck,” Eddie said quietly.

Stan shrugged. “No one’s mad. If they were, a manager would’ve been the one to talk to you, not me. Your response was justified.”

“Sorry if I made her yell at you more.”

“She went after Nancy,” Stan said, referencing the manager of the front end. “You should’ve seen it. Honestly, I was kind of bored, so I appreciated the entertainment.”

“You’re welcome?”

Stan chuckled. “By the way, Eddie, I was gonna ask you today―are you busy on Friday night?”

“Usually on Friday nights I hang out with my friend Bill. Why?”

“Richie, Mike, and I are going to Bev and Ben’s. We all talked and agreed that you should come. You can bring your friend, if you want.”

Eddie bit his lip, trying to play it cool, even though he kind of wanted to squeal. “Uh, yeah. I’d love to. I’ll have to talk to Bill first, but I’ll let you know?”

“That’s fine,” Stan said, “just tell us if you can. We all really want to hang out with you.”

Eddie couldn’t contain a smile. “Yeah, same.”

“Well, you can go back to your buckets. But hey, do me a favor? When you go out there, look really sad, like I just gave you a stern talking to.”

“Got it,” Eddie said, rising from his chair to leave. “Thanks Stan.”

“Yeah, sure, Eddie,” Stan said.

Eddie turned on his best serious face, listening to Stan laugh to himself as Eddie went back to the front of the store.

When he got back to his department, he saw the last person he wanted to see sitting on his counter. Well, besides Karen.

“There’s the troublemaker!” Richie shouted out, making Eddie blush furiously as he went behind the counter.

Since meeting Richie a couple weeks ago, Eddie tried to avoid him as much as possible. He honestly didn’t see Richie much, and when he did, Stan was usually there to help steer him away. If they did see each other, it was usually just in passing, and they’d just exchange a sentence or two. This time, though, Richie looked pretty settled in.

“Why do you always have to put your ass on my counter?”

Richie ignored him. “So, did Stan rip you a new one or what?”

Eddie crossed his arms. “No, he was perfectly understanding. I acted in self defense.”

“I’d hardly call that self defense,” Richie said, grinning.“I thought you were gonna make that lady cry.”

“You heard that?” Eddie asked, horrified.

“Of course I did. I was hiding in the baby food aisle.”

Eddie glared at him. “You heard some lady attacking me and you just stood there?”

“It sounded like you had it covered to me,” Richie changed to a high pitched voice. “ _ Maybe your husband just doesn’t care. _ ”

“Oh my God, are you mocking me? I don’t even sound like that!”

Richie was laughing, and Eddie was trying very hard not to join him. Okay, sure, it had been a stupid thing to say, but it  _ was _ sort of funny.

“God, Bev’s gonna lose it when she hears about this. In a good way.”

“You don’t think she’s gonna be mad that I pissed a customer off? What if she leaves a bad review on Yelp?”

“I think she’ll be mad that a customer was mean to you if anything,” Richie said with a shrug, “but don’t worry, Eddie Spaghetti, Stan and I have your back either way.”

“Eddie  _ Spaghetti? _ Ew, Richie.”

Richie chuckled and softly kicked Eddie in the leg. “Did Stan ask you about Friday yet?”

“Yeah, he did,” Eddie said. “I’m gonna try to come.”

“Hey, that’s what I like to hear!” Richie said with a wink.

Eddie sighed. “Richie, can you do me a favor?”

“Anything for you.”

Eddie turned on the sink, his back now facing Richie. “Get out of my department.”

“You wound me,” he said, but Eddie heard him jump down from the counter. “See you Friday, Eddie Spaghetti!” 

Eddie had a lot to think about for the rest of his shift. 

&

It had been a long time since Eddie had been so excited for a Friday night. Stan was on his way to pick him up, and Eddie was nervously fiddling with the collar of his shirt as he looked at himself in the mirror. This is what he had dreamed of when he thought about college: new friends who wanted to hang out with him. Not to say he didn’t love hanging out with Bill, but this was no average night spent playing video games in his best friend’s basement.

_ His best friend.  _ Okay, so maybe Eddie felt a little guilty about blowing Bill off this Friday. But Bill had mentioned wanting to go to a party to celebrate the first Friday of the school year, and Eddie wasn’t much into parties anyway. So Eddie had told Bill to go on without him, that he’d find something else to do that Friday. And he did. If Bill thought Eddie was watching soap operas with his mom, then so be it. What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

Eddie knew he was being selfish; if Bill had made new friends, he undoubtedly would’ve invited Eddie to hang out with them all. Eddie would’ve gone with Bill to somebody’s house and sat awkwardly in the corner as Bill charmed the pants off of everyone. Most likely, no one would even remember he was there. He couldn’t let that happen with his Penny’s friends―he  _ refused.  _

He wasn’t going to hide them forever, just until they liked him enough that Bill wouldn’t come in and swoop them away. For now, when Bill asked about his Penny’s friends, Eddie would just say they were  _ kinda cool, not sure yet.  _ He was letting himself have this one thing.

Satisfied with how he looked, Eddie headed down the stairs. Thankfully, his mother was sitting in her recliner by the TV, so she wouldn’t be able to see when Stan’s car pulled into the driveway instead of Bill’s. Bill was the only person his mother allowed to drive Eddie around, and really the only person she permitted him to hang out with in general. Introducing her to Stan would be a whole ordeal that probably wouldn’t end well. 

“You look nice, sweetie,” his mother said. “What are you boys doing tonight?’

This, Eddie knew, was a loaded question framed innocently, and he had to tread very carefully. If he answered the wrong way, his mother would pitch a fit.

“I think we’re going to go out for dinner,” Eddie said. “You know, instead of ordering in. We want to celebrate the start of college.”

His mother quirked an eyebrow. “Celebrate? You’re not going to a party, are you? You know how many students die at college parties every year? Not to mention the alcohol, Eddie, you  _ cannot  _ drink. Not only is it illegal-”

“Ma, please, no,” Eddie said, “We’re not going to a party. It’s me and Bill we’re talking about, right? You know we don’t do that stuff.”

This seemed to satisfy her a bit. “I’m sorry, Eddie, I know you’re good boys. College is just very dangerous, with a lot of bad influences. That’s why I’m so glad you’re living at home.”

Eddie wanted to roll his eyes, but he also wanted to go out with his friends, so he just smiled. “Yeah, Ma, me too.”

“Well, you boys have a nice time,” she said, and Eddie approached her to kiss her on the cheek.

“See you tomorrow,” Eddie said, seeing headlights pulling into the driveway out of the corner of his eye.

When he got in the car, Stan and Mike were both sitting in the front.

“Eddie, my man!” Mike said as Eddie opened the door. “How’s it going?”

Both Mike and Stan were turned around to look back at him, grins on their faces.

Eddie felt insanely shy all of the sudden. “Hey guys.”

“Are you ready to get lit?” Mike said.

Stan shot Mike a look before turning around. “We’re playing Uno at Bev and Ben’s, not getting lit. Last time we got  _ lit  _ Richie puked all over my upholstery.”

_ Totally getting lit,  _ Mike mouthed to him, giving him a wink.

Eddie felt equal parts excited and terrified as Stan pulled out of the driveway.

Bev pulled Eddie into a hug the second he walked through the door. “Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re here! Look at you, you look so cute!”

Ben, thankfully, didn’t pull Eddie into a hug, but gave him a wave. “Hey, Eddie.”

He smiled at Ben as they all made their way into the apartment, Mike and Stan kicking their shoes off like they owned the place.

“Where is he?” Stan asked Bev.

“He just got off of work, he’s gonna be late.”

Eddie assumed they were talking about Richie, which, oh, right. He was coming to this. Great. He took his own shoes off, placing them where Mike and Stan left theirs, and followed everyone over to the couch.

Ben and Bev’s apartment was cuter than Eddie had expected. It was small, and the wall color was a kind of ugly beige, but it was undeniably cozy. The couch was old and green, with a mismatched arm chair flanking one side, and a scratched up side table on the other. On the TV stand lay several pictures: there was a picture of Ben kissing Bev on the cheek, a picture of Mike throwing up a peace sign, and Eddie’s personal favorite, a picture of a very sad looking Stan giving Richie a piggy back ride. 

They all sat there for a while, gossiping about work and talking about their new classes, and it felt nice. Everyone asked him questions, laughed at his jokes, and Ben even brought out the drinks. He couldn’t believe they got to do this all the time, just sitting around enjoying each other’s company in comfort. Eddie was only slightly bitter.

He didn’t have a ton of experience with drinking, but once Bill had somehow acquired a bottle of vodka that they took shots from at sleepovers, and sometimes they’d steal beers from the fridge when the Denbroughs weren’t home.

He felt adultish, suddenly, sitting there with his drink and laughing, rather than hiding in Bill’s basement taking shots and trying not to puke.

Eddie was almost finished with his second lemonade when the front door slammed open.

“Hello party people!” Richie, of course, shouted.

“A grand entrance for a grand idiot,” muttered Stan.

Richie grinned as he entered the apartment, closing the door behind him. “Hello to you too, Stan the Man.”

Eddie had never seen any of these people outside of work, but it hadn’t been that much of shock to his system. Bev got to wear her own clothes to work anyway, Mike and Ben dressed like pretty basic guys, and it seemed fitting that Stan wore sweater vests. 

Richie, on the other hand, was wearing pretty normal black jeans, his hair slightly damp and his glasses still on his face. That’s where any sense of normalcy ended. Peeking out from his orange sneakers were the most offensively highlighter yellow socks Eddie had ever seen. He also had on a white long sleeved shirt with a hideous green Hawaiian shirt overtop. Richie might as well have painted the word “obnoxious” across his forehead to seal the deal. 

As if reading Eddie’s mind, Richie looked over at him. “Well, look who it is, our guest of honor! You do know that wearing polos is only a requirement at Penny’s, right?”

“Richie, don’t start,” Bev warned.

Eddie sighed. “No no, it’s okay. Sorry, Richie, I didn’t realize the dress code was wannabe hipster chic. I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

“I love him,” Stan whispered, and everyone in the room laughed, including Richie himself.

Without even having the decency to take his shoes off, Richie came over and wedged himself into the space between Eddie and Mike on the couch. “Who’s got a drink for little ole Richie?”

Ben handed Richie a bottle from the floor. “There’s more in the fridge.”

Richie’s voice turned into some sort of Southern Belle. “Why, Benjamin, you are so very sweet to me. If you weren’t already pledged to Miss Beverly over here I might just smooch you.”

“I don’t think so, Richard,” Bev said, throwing a protective arm over Ben. “Are you guys ready for Uno or what?”

The cards came out then, and they all moved to the floor to sit around the coffee table. He sat squished between Richie and Mike, still, bumping elbows as they drank and got more into a card game than Eddie thought was possible. He spent most of the night laughing until he was nearly in tears, sometimes even at Richie’s jokes. Eddie thought that these people might actually be the best in the world.

Something gnawed at him, though, as he sat around with his new friends. His mind kept going back to Bill, who was probably shitfaced at some party. He couldn’t stop picturing what Bill’s face would look like when he found out that Eddie lied to him, that Eddie blatantly didn’t invite him. 

Luckily, with Bev, Ben, Richie, Stan, Mike, and some stupid sugary drinks, it was easier not to dwell on it.

They all ended up dozing off in the living room while watching High School Musical (they had all screamed when Eddie confessed he’d never seen it), Eddie slightly drunk and extremely happy. He finally settled on the couch at some point, Stan curled up in the recliner, and Mike and Richie on the floor below him, Ben and Bev having retired to their room.

He stared up at the ceiling for a while, listening to Richie and Mike chat while Stan snored softly, his hands folded across his chest. 

“What do you think, Eds?” Richie’s voice suddenly pulled Eddie out his zoned out state.

“Huh?” Eddie asked.

Mike chuckled. “We were talking about who we’d all be in High School Musical. We can’t decide if Ben would be Troy, or I would.”

“Hmm,” Eddie said, giving careful thought, “I think you’re Troy, Mike. Ben’s more like the kid who bakes.”

“Damn, he’s good,” Richie said. “Wait, speaking of which, I got one.”

“Oh God, prepare yourself,” Mike said.

“What kind of cakes would we all be?”

Mike laughed. “I call red velvet.”

“No way!” Eddie said. “That’s obviously Bev.”

“He’s right once again,” Richie said. “Mike is….”

“Do not say chocolate. You  _ cannot _ say chocolate.”

“Oh, come on, I was gonna say angel food cake!”

“Sure, Richie.”

Eddie was laughing now. “What am I?”

They were quiet for a moment before Richie spoke. “I think you’re lemon cake. I will not be taking questions at this time.”

“Richie is confetti cake,” Mike said.

“Really? I was thinking something more along the lines of pound cake, you know, because-” 

He was interrupted by a pillow being flung at his head from Stan’s chair. “Can you all shut the fuck up?”

“You’re just mad because you’re carrot cake,” Richie said, and they all laughed. They continued to debate about cake until Eddie could barely keep his eyes open.

It was weird, how natural it felt. It was almost like a sense of relief, being around these people, like it was meant to be this way all along.

Eddie, just this once, decided to save his guilt for later, falling asleep with a smile on his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on tumblr @stanurised
> 
> please tell me below what flavor of cake ben would be


End file.
